Manipulator Robot Tools with Ramps Bearing Equipment Items for Gripping Objects

ABSTRACT

A manipulator robot for handling objects and in particular bottles. It includes a body whereon are fitted equipment items for gripping the bottles and the lower part of the body includes slide-shaped devices connecting the body and the ramps whereon is arranged the equipment items. Fast fixing devices are also interposed between the body and each ramp to facilitate changing the ramps. The ramps may include all sorts of equipment items such as pneumatic bell-shaped gripping heads or handling suckers and/or claw systems for handling cartons.

The present invention relates to an improvement to manipulator robot tools and, more particularly, the tools used to pick up, move and transfer objects of all sorts in installations for the preparation and packaging or repackaging of these objects.

The tools of these robots are generally assigned to a clearly defined task, unchanging over time, and they are therefore not very suitable, lacking flexibility, for the operations that may be encountered in certain cases and which may be extremely varied.

Thus, for example, this problem of flexibility is encountered in the field of repackaging objects such as bottles, which are sometimes mass-prepared and packaged for delivery to central purchasing facilities, but which must then be repackaged in smaller batches for retailers.

The bottles are handled by a robot whereof the tool comprises a large number of gripping heads, and these heads are generally selected according to the type of bottles to be handled. The distribution of heads on the tool also depends on the packaging scheme planned for these bottles.

To contend with the variations in shape and size of the bottles or with the various packaging schemes, that is, the arrangement of the bottles with respect to one another during the secondary packaging, it is very often necessary to replace the tool, implying the permanent availability of a stock of tools adapted to the various schemes.

The operation whereby a tool is replaced on a manipulator robot is not a simple operation because these tools are relatively heavy, weighing about 150 to 400 kg or more. This operation employs large scale resources. It may be performed automatically, with appropriate handling means, or it may also be performed manually and, in this case, it requires the action of at least one operator with the use of a forklift truck.

The same difficulties associated with the handling of the tool recur for simple maintenance or upkeep operations on these tools and particularly for operations on the gripping heads.

To overcome these difficulties, the tool may be divided, as described in document U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,776, into several parts: a massive fixed part forming a frame, and, associated with this frame, demountable elements, which comprise built-in gripping heads.

The present invention proposes an improvement to manipulator robot tools, which not only helps to overcome the problems described above, but which also serves to impart to the tool a genuine versatility which meets the concern for flexibility. It also serves to make the maintenance operations and all handling operations associated with the replacement of the gripping heads less complicated and more rapid, and this is also valid in the context of a change of type of production, with, for example, the implementation of a new packaging scheme. All the operations pertaining to the tool are thereby simplified.

According to the invention, the tool comprises a body to which are fitted attachments which are suitable for the operations to be conducted, such as, for example, gripping attachments, said body comprising, in its lower part, slide-shaped means which are inserted between said body and ramps which carry said attachments, said slides are parallel to one another and consist of fixed rails connected to said body, each of these rails being equipped with groove-like assembly means for accommodating another rail which is mobile with respect thereto, having a complementary shape, located in the upper part of each of said ramps, and these pairs of fixed and mobile rails are equipped with means for quickly connecting each ramp to the body, said connecting means consisting, on the one hand, of a heel placed at the back of the fixed rail of said body, said heel forms a stop for the longitudinal wedging of the mobile rail and of the corresponding ramp and, on the other hand, at the front, these connecting means consist of a quick connection inserted between the rail of said ramp and said fixed rail, said quick connection is, for example, of the type commonly called: lash cleat.

This dissociation of the ramps from the tool body serves to simplify all the operations consisting in replacing the type of gripping head, for example. Each ramp can be handled individually and its weight is sufficiently low for an operator to take direct action without the help of a forklift truck.

According to another arrangement of the invention, the ramp has the shape of a caisson which comprises, in its upper part, the mobile rail of the slide system and, in its lower part, a conventional gripping attachment consisting of bell-shaped, pneumatically actuated heads, said caisson containing the various lines and connection and feed members of said heads.

According to an alternative of the invention, the ramp has the shape of a bar made from a synthetic material, machined in its upper part to form the rail of the slide system and machined in its mass to constitute the channels for feeding attachments such as suckers, or others, said suckers being placed at the lower part of said bar.

Also according to the invention, a quick coupling device for the pneumatic air feed to the gripping heads or suckers, is inserted between the back end face of the ramp and the heel of the fixed rail of the body, said heel having the shape of a genuine wall arranged squarely at the end of said fixed rail.

According to another alternative of the invention, ramps may comprise arrangements for producing a claw system, each arrangement consisting, for example, of a plate installed on a ramp, acting as a jaw, said plate may also comprise rod-like means forming a sort of bracing and reinforcement for said jaws, in cooperation with bearing-like means placed on the adjacent ramp.

According to a further arrangement of the invention, wedging means for maintaining the ramp in a vertical plane are inserted between the end of each ramp and the heel located at the end of the fixed rail of the body, said means are positioned at the lower part of said heel and consist of a centering pin placed, for example, on said heel, cooperating with an orifice made in said end of said ramp.

Also according to the invention, each ramp may comprise, on its sides, orifices placed in its front part and in its back part, for storing it by hooking on horizontal support arms, and it may also comprise handles placed between said hooking orifices, to facilitate its handling.

The invention further relates to the installation which comprises the type of tool described above, and in particular the bottle repackaging installation comprising—at least one loading station, supplied by at least one line for introducing pallets, or other items, containing bottles to be repackaged,—at least one line for transit or removal of said pallets, or other items,—at least one line for conveying and storing the pallets or crates suitable for receiving the repackaged bottles,—at least one line for removing the pallets or crates containing newly packaged bottles, and at least one palletizing station,—a manipulator robot equipped with at least one mobile tool for handling all said stations and said lines,—means for storing the ramps having the shape of a magazine, for making said ramps available to the operator close to the tool, said magazine consisting of a frame mountable on rollers, said frame is equipped with a central panel-shaped structure which carries horizontal arms arranged in pairs at several levels for accommodating said ramps.

However, the invention is given in greater detail using the following description and the drawings appended hereto, provided for information and in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified frontal elevation view of a tool with ramps fitted with bell-shaped gripping heads;

FIG. 2 shows the tool in a side view, with the same ramps as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows, in greater detail, the assembly and connection at the end of a ramp to the heel of the rail which is fixed to the tool body;

FIG. 4 shows a tool which is shown schematically and more completely, in a side view, and said tool is equipped with another type of ramp such as, for example, the attachment consisting of suckers;

FIG. 5 shows, in greater detail, the end of the ramp shown in FIG. 4, heel side;

FIG. 6 shows an identical tool to the one in FIG. 4, equipped with ramps which are arranged to perform crate gripping operations, for example;

FIG. 7 shows, in a front view, a tool equipped, on the one hand, with two ramps with suckers as shown in FIG. 4 and, on the other hand, ramps shown in FIG. 6, said tool being in an inactive position facing a crate;

FIG. 8 shows, also in a front view, the tool in FIG. 7 in an active position of gripping the crate;

FIG. 9 shows a repackaging installation, for example, using a versatile tool of the invention;

FIG. 10 shows an alternative repackaging installation;

FIG. 11 shows a ramp storage device, suitable for positioning close to the robot of one or the other of the installations in FIGS. 9 and 10, facilitating the operator's work.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tool (1) comprises a body (2) which can be structured with conventional arrangements conferring particular functions thereto. These arrangements and functions are given in greater detail below in the description as the need arises.

In FIG. 1, the tool (1) comprises ramps (3) extending below the body (2), and said ramps (3) comprise, in their lower part, bell-shaped, pneumatically actuated heads (4), for gripping bottles, not shown.

Particular means are inserted between the body (2) and each ramp (3) for their assembly. These means consist of a slide system (5) whereof part, in the form of a fixed rail (6), is connected to the body (2) and whereof the other part, also in the form of a rail (7), but mobile, is placed on each ramp (3) at its upper part. The rail (6) comprises for example a groove and its C-shaped section extends horizontally; the rail (7) of the ramp (3) has a complementary shaped section; this section is a recumbent H-shape or a tee shape.

These ramps (3) are inserted via the front (8) of the tool and are immobilized with regard to the body (2) by means of a connecting system which comprises, as shown in FIG. 2,—a heel (9) located at the back end of the fixed rail (6) which acts as a stop and,—a lash cleat-like—quick connection (10), located at the front end of said rail (6). This quick connection (10) comprises a hook (11) fixed to the front end of the rail (6) and a handle (12) placed on the front end of the mobile rail (7) of the ramp (3).

An operator can therefore very rapidly perform the demounting of the ramps (3) by a simple unclipping of the quick connection (10) located at the front of the tool and by extracting said ramps (3) by sliding using the slide system (5).

Each ramp (3) has the shape of a caisson (13) extending between the slide system (5) and the series of heads (4). This caisson (13) contains the lines (14) for supplying compressed air to the various gripping heads (4). These lines (14) are connected to the compressed air source via a quick coupling (15) located on the back end side of the ramp (3). This connection is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. The fixed part (16) of the quick coupling (15) is installed on the heel (9) and its mobile part (17) is installed on the end of the caisson (13), on its wall (18).

To obtain a perfect positioning of the ramps (3), in the vertical plane, and their complete immobilization, the heel (9) of each rail (6) is prolonged towards the lower part of the caisson (13). This heel (9) forms a genuine wall and comprises means for wedging the ramp (3) with which it cooperates. These wedging means consist of a pin (19) installed, for example, in the heel (9), at its lower part, and said pin cooperates with an orifice made in the end wall (18) of said caisson.

To facilitate the handling of the ramps (3), handles (20) are provided in the sides of the caissons (13). These handles are placed between the orifices (21) passing through each caisson (13), said orifices (21) being placed at each upper end of said caisson (13) and serving to suspend the ramps (3) in a magazine described below in greater detail in connection with FIG. 11.

FIG. 4 shows a tool (1) equipped with another form of ramp (3). This alternative ramp, also denoted (3 v), comprises suckers (22) suitable for performing other operations with the tool (1). The suckers (22) are installed on the bottom side of the ramp (3 v), said ramp (3 v) having the shape of a bar (23) made from a synthetic material, for example, and it comprises at its upper part a rail (7) obtained by machining said bar (23), said rail (7) cooperates with the fixed rail (6) which is connected to the body (2) of the tool.

The back end of the ramp (3 v) is shown in FIG. 5 in greater detail; the supply system of the suckers (22) is identical to the one used for the ramps (3) fitted with gripping heads (4). The quick coupling (15) comprises the same fixed part (16) which is connected to the heel (9). This fixed part (16) cooperates with a bore (24) made in the mass of the bar (23) and this bore (24) is prolonged by a drilled duct (25) which communicates with the suckers (22) to place them under vacuum.

Also at its back end, the ramp (3 v) comprises an orifice (26) which cooperates with the pin (19) to wedge said ramp in the vertical plane. This orifice (26) is made in a heel (27) which projects from the bottom of the bar (23); this heel (27) may be part of said bar (23), of the same piece, or, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, may be added on and fixed by any appropriate means to the end thereof.

The tool (1), thanks to its slide system (5), can thereby combine ramps equipped with various types of attachments, suitable for the operations required. These attachments may be different from one another for certain types of operation, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

In these FIGS. 7 and 8, the tool (1) comprises ramps (3 v) of the sucker type and a system of claws, for handling one or more crates (30). The claw system itself consists of several ramps (3):—two ramps (3 p) forming jaws and two ramps (3 r) associated with same, forming reinforcements for said jaws.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the claw system with the ramp (3 p) and the ramp (3 r) discussed in greater detail below.

In FIG. 7, the tool is shown in the inactive position facing a crate (30) whereas in FIG. 8, the same tool is shown in an active position of gripping said same crate (30).

This handling of the crates (30) is feasible thanks to the arrangement of the tool (1) which comprises means for simultaneously separating all the rails (6) and keeping them parallel to one another and always with the same spacing. These means are not part of the invention but they serve to take advantage thereof; they are shown very schematically in the figures and particularly in FIGS. 4, 6, 7 and 8.

The means for modifying the spacing of the rails (6) consist of slide systems (31) placed across and inserted between the body (2) and said rails (6). These rails (6) are also connected together by means of a compass-like mechanism (32) serving to maintain the same spacing between said rails (6), said spacing being changed at will using two cylinders (33) each acting on said rails (6) placed laterally, at the ends of the body (2) of the tool (1).

The claw system can operate thanks to this particular arrangement of the tool (1) which enables the ramps (3 p) to form a sort of vice. These ramps (3 p) have the shape of a plate (34) whereof the upper part is provided with a horizontal fold (35), positioned squarely, to which the rail (7) is fixed.

To prevent the distortion of the plates (34) which constitute jaws, these plates (34) comprise stiffeners formed of rods (36) which make a sort of bracing; each rod (36) extends horizontally, perpendicular to its plate (34), and is guided in a bearing (37) arranged on the ramp (3 r) in order to slide during the separation of the rails (6).

This ramp (3 r) simply consists of a rail (7) which supports the bearings (37) serving as guides for the rods (36), as shown also in FIG. 6.

The ramps (3 p) and (3 r) form a pair and are installed simultaneously in their respective rails (6). They are immobilized in the rails (6) like the ramps described above in detail with lash cleat-like quick connection means (10) and are also maintained in a vertical plane using the pin (19) installed on the heel (9), said pin (19) cooperating with a projecting part (38), installed on the back part of the ramps (3 p) and (3 r), FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 schematically shows a bottle packaging or repackaging installation, for example. This installation comprises:—a bottle loading station (44) and a line (45) whereby are introduced the pallets or other items containing said bottles or batches of bottles to be repackaged,—at least one line (46) for transit or removal of said pallets or other items when they are empty,—at least one line (47) for conveying and storing the pallets or crates intended to receive the repackaged bottles or batches,—at least one line (48) for removing the pallets or crates of newly packaged bottles and at least one palletizing station (49),—a manipulator robot (50) whereof the tool (1) is installed on a gantry (51) for handling all the stations or lines described above, said manipulator robot (50) comprising a tool (1) such as the one described above, which travels above the stations (44, 49) and above the lines (45) to (48).

An alternative of this installation is shown in FIG. 10; it differs in the fact that the manipulator robot (52) comprises an arm (53) which moves about a vertical axis. This arm (53) comprises at its end a tool (1) as described previously, also traveling above the various stations (44), (49) or the lines (45) to (48).

To enable the operator to take action rapidly at the tool (1) to alter its configuration, he is provided with one or more movable magazines (60); each magazine is, for example, arranged to contain at least one set of ramps (3) intended for installation on said tool (1). The ability to place this magazine (60) immediately next to the tool (1) helps the operator to save time and reduces the fatigue caused by these operations.

This magazine (60) is shown schematically in FIG. 11, on a larger scale than that used to show the two installations in FIGS. 9 and 10. It consists of a frame (61) which can be mounted on rollers (62), said frame being equipped with a central panel-shaped structure (63) comprising arms (64). These arms (64) are perpendicular to the panel (63); they extend horizontally and are placed at several levels, in pairs, to accommodate the ramps (3). These ramps (3) are hooked to the arms (64) by means of orifices (21) made in the caissons (13).

The ramps (3) may also comprise attachments other than bottle gripping heads. They may also be equipped with claws, suckers as described in detail above, etc., imparting considerable versatility to the tool (1).

These ramps (3 p), (3 r) can be stored in the same way on the arms (64) of the magazine (60). 

1. A manipulator robot tool for picking up and moving objects, said tool comprising a body to which are fitted attachments for gripping said objects, said body comprises slide-shaped means, inserted between said body and ramps which carry said attachments, said slides are parallel to one another and consist of fixed rails connected to said body, each of these fixed rails being equipped with groove-like assembly means for accommodating another rail having a complementary shape, but mobile, located in the upper part of each of said ramps, wherein it comprises means for quickly connecting each ramp to said body, said means consisting, on the one hand, of a heel placed at the back of the fixed rail of the body, said heel forms a stop for the longitudinal wedging of the mobile rail of the corresponding ramp associated with it and, on the other hand, at the front, these connecting means consist of a quick connection inserted between the rail of said ramp and said fixed rail, said quick connection is, for example, of the type commonly called: lash cleat.
 2. The manipulator robot tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ramp has the shape of a caisson extending between the slide system and the bell-shaped, pneumatically actuated head-like gripping attachment, said caisson containing the various lines and connection and feed members of said heads.
 3. The manipulator robot tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ramp has the shape of a bar made from a synthetic material, machined in its upper part to form the rail of the slide system and machined in its mass to constitute the feed channels for attachments such as suckers, said suckers being placed at the lower part of said bar.
 4. The manipulator robot tool as claimed in claim 2, wherein it comprises a quick coupling device inserted between the back end face of the ramp and the heel of the rail to provide the pneumatic air supply, said heel having the shape of a genuine wall arranged squarely at the end of said rail.
 5. The manipulator robot tool as claimed in claim 1, said tool being equipped with compass-shaped means for changing the spacing of the fixed rails, wherein it comprises ramps fitted with arrangements for producing a claw system, said arrangements consist of a plate installed on a ramp, acting as a jaw, said plate comprising rod-like means forming a bracing in cooperation with bearing-like means placed on an adjacent ramp.
 6. The manipulator robot tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein it comprises means for wedging each ramp in a vertical plane with regard to its rail, said means are inserted between the end of said ramp and the lower part of the heel of said rail, and they consist of a pin placed, for example, on said heel, cooperating with an orifice made in said end of said ramp.
 7. The manipulator robot tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein it comprises at least one ramp equipped, on its sides, with orifices placed in its front part and in its back part, for storing it by hooking on horizontal support arms, and also equipped with handles placed between said hooking orifices, to facilitate its handling.
 8. A bottle repackaging installation comprising:—at least one loading station and one line for introducing pallets, or other items, containing the bottles to be repackaged,—at least one line for transit or removal of said pallets, or other items, when they are empty,—at least one line for conveying and storing the pallets or crates suitable for receiving the repackaged bottles or batches,—at least one line for removing the pallets or crates containing the repackaged bottles, and at least one palletizing station,—one robot for manipulating the bottles, said robot comprising a tool as claimed in claim 1,—means for storing the ramps of said tool having the shape of a magazine, for making said ramps available to the operator close to said tool, said magazine consisting of a frame mountable on rollers, said frame is equipped with a central panel-shaped structure which carries horizontal arms arranged in pairs at several levels, said arms being suitable for accommodating said ramps. 